


Partner in Pasta

by jaexings



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Bad Cooking, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24956428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaexings/pseuds/jaexings
Summary: Donghyuck and Jungwoo's mutual love for pasta is one of many things they have in common. Since Donghyuck always cooks for him, Jungwoo decides that it’s time that he cooked something nice for his boyfriend.
Relationships: Kim Jungwoo/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 38





	Partner in Pasta

**Author's Note:**

  * For [leleluvclub (starryeyedpjm)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyedpjm/gifts).



> Happy birthday to my dearest partner in pasta, Rio ♡ thank you for all the encouragement & support you have given me, especially all the times you let me rave in your DMs about hyuckwoo!!! So here’s one of the many hyuckwoo ideas we’ve been crying about (magically written into a proper fic :D). 
> 
> This is set in the same universe as [You're my Sunflower](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19662844) ♡

“Are you sure about this?” 

Jungwoo glances up from his phone to find Jeno standing in the entrance of the kitchen. Jeno’s hands are perched on his hips and his brows are furrowed. He’s not sure why Jeno is staring him down disapprovingly, but he hopes it’s not because of Jungwoo’s overflowing laundry baskets again. 

“Of course I’m sure. I’m always sure when it’s for Donghyuck,” Jungwoo replies confidently as he swipes across his phone screen to remove the tabs with the online recipes. 

He has read and re-read the spaghetti recipe so many times that he’s certain he will be able to cook it without reading it again. Not only are the steps direct and simple, Jungwoo has also watched Donghyuck cook it countless times. It will be easy.

The deep frown on Jeno’s face disappears for a brief moment as he asks, “Would you like my honest or polite opinion on this?” 

“Honest, of course,” Jungwoo says, setting his phone down. 

Jungwoo knows Jeno too well to know that he only asked this out of politeness. They’ve lived in the same apartment for long enough to know each other’s personalities, quirks, and preferences. So naturally, Jeno is aware—at least Jungwoo thinks he is—that Jungwoo is a blunt and direct person who prefers honest responses that cut to the chase. 

“Don’t cook for Donghyuck,” Jeno announces. When a quiet snort of laughter escapes Jungwoo, Jeno continues, a hint of warning in his voice this time. “No—I’m not just teasing you. I’m serious about this one.” 

Now that’s a response Jungwoo did not expect. 

So he demands, “Why?”

“Because you burn everything you cook! The only time food doesn’t burn when you touch it is when you reheat it in a microwave and one of these days, you’re going to set that on fire too.”

Jungwoo frowns at this. His cooking skills aren’t great, but they’re not _that_ bad. Sure, he has burnt the food he was cooking in the past, though there have been several occasions where he succeeded—like that fried egg he made for himself last Sunday. It was a little undercooked in the middle and too crunchy around the edges, but Jungwoo likes his eggs runny anyway. 

“Spaghetti is easy to cook, Jeno. Have a little faith in me,” Jungwoo grumbles. 

Jungwoo has taken into account his basic cooking skills and has made a responsible decision to cook spaghetti. He’s not even going to try to make bolognese; the spaghetti will just be topped with tomato sauce, simple and achievable. It’s nothing fancy—certainly nothing like the dishes Donghyuck cooks for him regularly, like fettuccine with a nice, creamy carbonara sauce or macaroni and cheese—but it will be edible. And hopefully delicious. 

“I would trust you to cook this if I was around, but I have to leave for my bus in twenty minutes and I would very much like to come back to this apartment undamaged by fire.”

There’s a brief moment of silence—the uncomfortable kind. Jungwoo purses his lips, unsure what to say. They’ve been living in the same apartment for about a year and a half and while Jungwoo appreciates how Jeno is such a great flatmate, he really hates it when they argue. Jeno is great company—except for moments like this when he nags. 

Eventually, Jeno is the one who breaks the silence. “What time is Donghyuck coming?” 

“Later,” Jungwoo replies curtly. He has a terrible feeling that Jeno is going to ruin this little surprise for Donghyuck. 

“I asked what time. I’m going to make sure Donghyuck comes by earlier whether you like it or not. He can supervise while you cook.” 

Alarmed, Jungwoo exclaims, “Then it’s not a surprise for him!” 

“Donghyuck hates surprises, Jungwoo.” Jeno shakes his head with what appears to be a helpless look on his face. “Why do you keep surprising him?”

“This is not the kind of surprise he dislikes. This is just dinner,” Jungwoo reasons, waving a hand around the ingredients laid out on the kitchen counter. “Donghyuck surprises me with food all the time and I just want to be the one who makes food for him for once.” 

Jungwoo has it all planned out carefully. Donghyuck will arrive in two hours time, thinking that they’re going to order takeaway food—maybe pizza because Donghyuck has been raving about having a pizza night for a while now. Instead, he will be pleasantly surprised by the spaghetti that Jungwoo had cooked all by himself. They’ll eat it together then cuddle on the sofa with a movie playing in the background. It will be perfect. 

“Shit, I’m going to be late,” Jeno mutters under his breath when he checks the time on his phone. He hastily shoves his phone into the back pocket of his jeans and rushes to the front door to slip his shoes on. 

“Please don’t tell Donghyuck,” Jungwoo pleads in a quiet voice. 

Jeno’s hand hesitates over the doorknob. His head swivels as he glances over his shoulders. Even from where Jungwoo is still standing in the kitchen, he can hear the sigh that Jeno lets out. 

“I’m sorry Jungwoo,” Jeno apologises sincerely. “I know you mean well, but I’m just worried about your safety. I’m going to text Donghyuck when I get on the bus.” 

The door shuts behind Jeno with a quiet click. Jungwoo remains still for a few minutes, taking several deep breaths to recollect himself. He appreciates Jeno’s concern, but he’s going to forgo Jeno’s advice for once. 

Jeno is a man of his word though, which means that within the next twenty minutes, Donghyuck will be getting ready to come over to Jeno and Jungwoo’s place, much earlier than they’d agreed on. Fortunately for Jungwoo, his pasta plan hasn’t gone to waste. Not exactly. Even if Donghyuck gets ready to leave his dorm in record time, he still needs to commute to Jungwoo’s apartment. Which means Jungwoo has at least half an hour, forty minutes tops, to (successfully) carry out this pasta plan. 

Jungwoo gets right to work, starting by filling a third of a sizeable pot with water. As he sets it on the stove, a small voice at the back of his mind questions whether or not he needs to put more water in. 

“Ah, fuck it,” he grumbles after a minute-long debate in his mind. He turns on the gas stove, reassuring himself that there’s enough water in the pot to cook the pasta. 

Cooking is kind of like the scientific experiments he conducts in his lab classes and he’s good at those, so he just needs some time to test things out to become a better cook. Deciding that he’s better off following a procedure—like in his lab experiments—Jungwoo opens up one of the spaghetti recipes he was looking at earlier. 

He can barely contain the excitement bubbling inside him. Cooking for Donghyuck means a lot more than doing something nice for his boyfriend; it means more than doing something to impress him. Not long after they became friends—way before Jungwoo realised his feelings for Donghyuck and asked him out on dates—they discovered their mutual love and appreciation for pasta. Similar to the way close friends have inside jokes, pasta is their _thing_ and Jungwoo is going to cook pasta for Donghyuck. 

His desire to make the perfect pasta for Donghyuck acts as a roadblock as he cooks though. Every few minutes, Jungwoo catches himself mulling over the simplest decisions, second-guessing every little thing he does. A part of him knows that he needs to stop overthinking every instruction from the recipe, but he genuinely doesn’t know if he’s following it properly. The pasta has to be edible and he’s only got one shot at this. Damn, he really should have cooked this on a different day as a trial run. 

The portion recommended in the recipe is for a family of four, but the packet of uncooked spaghetti in his hand looks rather measly, barely enough for two people. Jungwoo stares intently at the writing on the plastic packaging, desperately hoping it will magically tell him how much he needs to put in the pot. Eventually, he decides to toss the whole packet in, cursing at himself as he does so for not buying a second packet of spaghetti when he went grocery shopping. 

Jungwoo checks the recipe for the next step and belatedly notices that the instructions specifically said to only add the uncooked pasta when the water is boiling. Peering past the skinny, rigid strands of uncooked spaghetti poking out from the pot, he spots small bubbles burbling away. That’s close enough to boiling point. 

While the spaghetti is cooking away, Jungwoo gets started on the sauce. The mushrooms are easy to work with and he chops them up quickly. The slices of mushroom are cut unevenly, but he just needs the pasta to be edible, not five-star chef quality. The onion, however, is a nightmare. Despite taking extra precautions, like keeping his face a good distance away from the onion as he chops it up, his eyes begin to water uncontrollably. 

“Fuck,” Jungwoo groans loudly. Not only are his eyes filling up with tears, they _burn_ as well, which makes absolutely no sense because he didn’t get a single drop of onion juice in them. 

He’s only cut up half of the onion so he needs to work faster. It’s easier said than done though—he can barely see what he’s doing with the tears blurring his vision. Determined to not let a single onion hinder his cooking, Jungwoo abandons the uncut half. 

When his hands are thoroughly washed and the onions are sizzling away in a pan, he checks the recipe again. He finds two unread text messages from Donghyuck, one asking him if he’s okay and another saying that he is on his way to Jungwoo’s apartment. Jungwoo texts back, reassuring Donghyuck that he’s perfectly fine and that he will see him soon. 

Except things aren’t fine. As Jungwoo tosses a handful of chopped mushrooms into his pan of sizzling onions, he realises that the onions are turning darker than golden brown. In the brief moment that he’d stepped back to text Donghyuck, his onions had begun to burn. 

“Oh no,” Jungwoo gasps, fumbling around his kitchen for a spatula to stir the onions. It could be worse, he reminds himself. His onions could be charred but they’re not. At least, not yet. 

Jungwoo takes a step back to survey his stovetop. It is at that moment that Jungwoo recalls that he is also supposed to stir his pasta. The long strands of uncooked spaghetti that didn’t fit in the pot are still sticking out, unable to cook and soften as they’re not in contact with the boiling water. Fortunately, the lower half of the spaghetti—that had been cooking in the boiling water—have softened enough for him to twist and bend the long strands until the uncooked ends are immersed in the water too. 

Perhaps cooking is much harder than it looks. Harder than the unsolved maths questions sitting on his study desk. As he opens up a can of whole, peeled tomato, he thinks about the time he’d watched others—like his mother and Donghyuck—cook and how they made it look so _easy_. 

He carefully pours the tomato sauce into the pan, using his hand to catch the whole tomato as it slides out from the can. Earlier in the week, Jungwoo had spent quite some time watching videos of famous chefs cooking spaghetti. 

One chef in particular—Jamie Oliver, if Jungwoo recalls correctly—had used whole tomatoes in their video and encouraged the viewers to just squeeze the tomato with their hands. Jungwoo admired how simple and efficient the idea was and had specifically purchased cans of whole tomatoes to try this out himself. 

It seems like a great idea until Jungwoo closes his hand around the tomato and squeezes his hand into a fist. Unlike Jamie Oliver, Jungwoo’s tomato squirts everywhere, splattering onto the edges of the stove, the kitchen wall behind the stove, and even onto Jungwoo’s shirt. 

Defeat seeps into every corner of his mind and he shuffles back to slump against the fridge with a loud sigh. At this point, Jungwoo doesn’t even have the energy to curse. He rinses his hand in the sink and without bothering to dry his hands, he reaches out for the glass of red wine that he had left out on the kitchen counter. While preparing the ingredients for cooking, he had precisely measured out this glass of wine to add into the pasta sauce. 

Now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t even _know_ if this wine will go with his tomato sauce. He just knows that Donghyuck adds wine into pasta sauce sometimes and it tastes great, but he struggles to remember what type of sauce goes with wine and what type doesn’t. 

Deciding that he needs the wine more than the stupid pasta, Jungwoo downs the glass in a few gulps. He helps himself to a second glass before turning back to his cooking because damn, he really needs it to keep him going. 

Right as he pours himself a third glass, he is interrupted by a loud knock on his front door. It’s a sign, Jungwoo decides there and then. It’s a sign to call it a day. Today is just not the day for cooking and Jungwoo no longer has the motivation to cook like he did earlier. He hastily turns the stove off before he rushes to the door. At least he has Donghyuck to look forward to. 

With a sturdy tug, Jungwoo pulls open the front door and—there he is. Donghyuck’s face looks mildly flushed, like he’d broken off into a run at some point in the last twenty minutes. Jungwoo inches closer and sure enough, he spots a thin sheen of sweat on Donghyuck’s forehead, close to his hairline. He sweeps his eyes over Donghyuck, noticing that he has his navy gym bag slung over one shoulder and his phone clutched tightly in his hand. 

“Hi,” Donghyuck chirps cheerily. Then, without hesitation, he swoops in for a kiss and Jungwoo leans down ever so slightly to meet him halfway. 

Jungwoo revels in the warmth of Donghyuck’s lips as they share a long kiss. They’ve kissed countless times but each time they do it again, it feels like a breath of fresh air. Jungwoo’s a bit embarrassed to say that aloud though; it’s one of those thoughts that sound better in his head and a little on the cheesy side when shared in a conversation. 

Nevertheless, the kiss with Donghyuck is warm, familiar, and most importantly, comforting. 

“Hi,” Jungwoo replies when Donghyuck pulls away. 

“Hey you,” Donghyuck grins, almost mischievously. “What trouble did you get up to?” 

It is only then that Jungwoo notices how warm his face feels. He doesn’t know if it’s because of the three glasses of wine he gulped down in the last ten or so minutes or if he’s merely embarrassed at the reminder of his pasta disaster. 

“You taste like wine,” Donghyuck supplies as an afterthought. 

“I wouldn’t call it trouble,” Jungwoo begins. He tugs Donghyuck past his doorway and into the apartment by his wrist. “It’s more of an unsuccessful experiment attempt,” he reasons, more to convince himself than Donghyuck. 

“You know, Jeno described it as an emergency,” Donghyuck says. He slides his shoes off and nudges them into a corner with his toes. Then, he exclaims in what appears to be a terrible imitation of Jeno, “You must come over now! You must! Or else I’ll have no apartment to return to and you’ll have no boyfriend left!” 

Jungwoo reaches out a hand to hold onto Donghyuck’s gym bag for him. Wordlessly, Donghyuck passes his bag over and Jungwoo is mildly surprised by how it is heavier than it looks. Donghyuck had probably packed his laptop alongside his usual gym gear. Whenever Donghyuck stays over, they visit the gym near Jungwoo’s apartment together, usually in the early evening. Sometimes they go to the gym in the late morning.

“He was just being dramatic,” Jungwoo waves airily. “Though I do have to admit, the kitchen is quite a mess right now…” 

Donghyuck doesn’t reply. He ambles down the hallway, approaching the kitchen without hesitation. Jungwoo watches helplessly as Donghyuck surveys the scene of disaster before them. He pokes around the kitchen benchtop then peers into the pot on the stove with great curiosity. 

Jungwoo half expects Donghyuck to throw his head back and cackle, but the laughter doesn’t come. He watches on as Donghyuck furrows his brows, pursing his lips in concentration as he examines the mess on the stovetop. 

Jungwoo loves the way Donghyuck looks when he’s focused on something and it takes a lot of willpower for Jungwoo to hold himself back from pecking Donghyuck on the cheek. Especially his right cheek. Donghyuck has this secret dimple that only appears when he purses his lips like that and the mere sight of it drives Jungwoo crazy. 

“Oh wow,” Donghyuck comments as he tries to pick up some spaghetti with a pair of tongs. 

Jungwoo winces as Donghyuck pulls out a large chunk of spaghetti, all stuck together and burnt at the bottom where it was touching the pot. To be frank, the sight before him is alarming. Most of the water had evaporated from the pot and to Jungwoo’s surprise, the pot had filled to the brim with spaghetti. Where did all the spaghetti come from? He’d been so sure that one packet wasn’t going to be enough for the two of them, but the measly portion from the packet appeared to have doubled in the pot. Like someone had cast a duplication spell.

“I was going to cook for you,” Jungwoo chokes out eventually, still struggling to process the sight before him. “I wanted to make spaghetti for you but things didn’t go quite to plan.” 

The disappointment filling Jungwoo from head to toe must have seeped out. It must have been evident in his voice because Donghyuck swivels around to cup Jungwoo’s face.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Donghyuck reassures him in a soft voice. He thumbs at Jungwoo’s cheek gently. “I appreciate the thought. Really—I mean it.”

Jungwoo raises both hands to cover his face. Donghyuck’s hand, sandwiched between Jungwoo’s hand and cheek, feels cool against his skin. 

“But I ruined dinner.” 

Pasta was their thing and Jungwoo wanted it to be perfect. He wanted to be the one who presented Donghyuck with a delicious dish for once and to make Donghyuck proud. It’s always Donghyuck who finds another recipe to cook, or another type of pasta for them to try. Spaghetti with tomato sauce is one of the simplest dishes and Jungwoo can’t even get it right. 

Donghyuck draws him out of his thoughts by prying Jungwoo’s hands away from his face. 

“But that’s okay. I’m serious, Jungwoo,” Donghyuck says in an equally serious voice. “It’s okay if your cooking goes wrong. It’s okay if you burn your spaghetti or if it all gets stuck together. It’s okay.” 

“Okay,” Jungwoo echoes quietly. 

Disappointment lingers in his voice, but he tries his best to remind himself to trust Donghyuck. Donghyuck always knows what to say and he always knows how to bring out the best in Jungwoo. He loves that about Donghyuck.

Donghyuck presses firm hands against Jungwoo’s shoulders, turns him around then steers him in the general direction of the bathroom. 

“We can cook it again—together—if you want. I’ll get the kitchen cleaned up while you take a shower,” Donghyuck suggests helpfully. 

They’re mere steps away from the bathroom when Donghyuck pauses to hug him tightly. He pulls Jungwoo down to cradle his head and Jungwoo lets him. It feels nice to be coddled sometimes. 

“You smell like tomatoes,” Donghyuck comments with a beam on his face when Jungwoo finally pulls away. “And wine,” he adds. 

“Oh, do I?” Jungwoo glances down at his shirt—it’s splattered with red spots from when he tried to squeeze that whole tomato. Lifting his shirt to his face, he takes a whiff. “It was a little tomato accident. Which led me to drink three glasses of red wine.”

“Yes, and you have tomato sauce on your neck,” Donghyuck teases, “make sure you scrub that off.” 

Standing on the tip of his toes, Donghyuck leaves a peck on Jungwoo’s forehead. He looks pretty like this, Jungwoo thinks as he stares back down at Donghyuck. He always looks pretty, even when he’s grumpy in the morning after being woken up. It is during random moments that occur in between casual conversations much like this one, when Jungwoo is reminded, time after time, that the pretty boy standing before him is his boyfriend. 

As Donghyuck heads back to the kitchen, Jungwoo stops him, calling out in a soft voice. 

“Hey Donghyuck?”

Donghyuck swivels around swiftly. He remains silent, though the expression on his face is expectant. Jungwoo traces the curve of Donghyuck’s raised eyebrow with his eyes before mustering the courage to say the words lingering on the tip of his tongue. 

“Thank you,” he says, quietly but with sincerity. 

The wide smile that Donghyuck sends back to him makes Jungwoo fall in love with him a little more.

***

The warm shower washes away the residual disappointment sitting inside Jungwoo. As he steps out of the bathroom, he feels refreshed, both physically and mentally. The mere thought of spending his evening with Donghyuck and cooking together lifts his mood up. 

He finds Donghyuck in his room, curled up in the leather swivel chair at Jungwoo’s desk. Donghyuck’s long legs are folded against his chest and Jungwoo wonders how Donghyuck manages to make himself look so small. 

Donghyuck perks up at the sight of Jungwoo. “Let’s go shopping,” he says, snagging Jungwoo’s apartment keys off his desk. 

“Uh, you forgot the keys to my bike,” Jungwoo points out as Donghyuck pushes past him to lead the way. 

“We’re walking,” Donghyuck replies curtly. Jungwoo trails after him, feeling somewhat like a puppy chasing after its owner. Sensing his confusion, Donghyuck pauses by his shoes and elaborates. “You had three glasses of wine, remember? Even if you don’t feel it, it’s not safe to be riding a motorbike.”

“Do we have to go to the shops now?” Jungwoo whines. It’s a solid fifteen-minute walk one way, which adds up to thirty minutes of walking altogether.

“It’s only fifteen minutes, Jungwoo. Come, I’ll hold your hand the whole time if it makes you feel better.”

“Don’t tease me.” Jungwoo pouts at him but doesn’t protest or let go when Donghyuck laces their fingers together and tugs him out the front door. 

Jungwoo hates to admit this, but Donghyuck’s right. A fifteen-minute walk isn’t all that bad. One moment, he’s chatting to Donghyuck about a new video game released recently as they leave his apartment, then before he knows it, they’re standing in front of the local supermarket. 

Pretending to be a doorman, Donghyuck does a little bow and gestures grandly in the general direction of the aisles of products. “Alright chef, lead the way. I’ll be on basket duty today,” he says with a grin. He plucks a basket from the tall pile stacked beside the store’s entrance. 

It’s odd not being on basket duty for once. Usually when they cook together, Donghyuck is the one who does the cooking part so he’s the one who has a clear idea of what ingredients they will need. Jungwoo just tags along like a personal assistant, carrying the basket and holding it out for Donghyuck to add the next selected ingredient. 

They stroll through the store, conversing quietly among themselves as they pick through the ingredients Jungwoo wants in his pasta. Donghyuck insists that they should stick to the recipe Jungwoo was following and that they should just cook something simple. He wants his cooking lesson to be achievable for Jungwoo so that he can go away and recreate it himself another time without much help. 

The pasta aisle is the final stop for the shopping trip. Jungwoo mulls over the options, tempted to buy several types of pasta.

“Just get spaghetti,” Donghyuck repeats himself for the third time, sounding rather exasperated. “We can come back another time.” 

“But I want the shell pasta,” Jungwoo whines, “and the bow-tie one.”

Donghyuck pokes Jungwoo’s side with his finger. “They have proper names, you know. They’re not just called shell pasta and bow-tie pasta. This one is conchiglie and this one is farfalle.” 

They’re both avid fans of pasta, but Jungwoo’s not great with remembering the proper names for the different types of pasta. In his defense, he’s never been good with learning new languages and knowing the pasta names is pretty much learning Italian words… right? Fortunately, Donghyuck excels at recalling pasta names and makes up for Jungwoo’s lack of ability to do so. So, it’s okay. Donghyuck is here to remind Jungwoo when he forgets.

Nudging Donghyuck with his hip, Jungwoo replies, “I know, you’ve reminded me thousands of times. But they really do look like shells and bow-ties.” He takes one look at Donghyuck’s raised eyebrow and sighs. “Alright, this one is conchiglie,” he says, pointing at the stack of shell pasta on the shelf, “and this one is farfalle. Happy?” 

Donghyuck rewards him with a kiss on his cheek then makes him repeat it a few more times, in hopes of the names finally sticking in his brain. Jungwoo tries, but he doesn’t have high expectations for himself. He knows _some_ pasta names like fettuccine and penne, and that’s probably as good as he’s going to get at naming it. 

Donghyuck holds out the basket for him when he plucks a packet of spaghetti from the shelf. The long packet balances precariously on top of the cans of pineapple that Donghyuck had picked out earlier. They’d agreed on making jello for dessert and Donghyuck wanted to add fruits to his. 

Jungwoo watches as Donghyuck rearranges the basket to make the spaghetti fit. “Oh, I should probably get two packets,” Jungwoo says, thinking aloud. 

Pausing, Donghyuck glances up. “Why? One is enough for both of us.”

Jungwoo frowns. “Is it?” 

“Yeah, the pasta will soak up water as it cooks and like, expand. Well, I don’t know how accurate that explanation is but when you’re done cooking, you will have more pasta than you think.” 

They leave the pasta aisle and make their way to the checkout. Jungwoo nods thoughtfully at Donghyuck’s explanation, suddenly reminded of how his first batch of spaghetti doubled in portion in his pot. When it’s time to pay, Donghyuck draws out his wallet and tries to pay first.

“Hey, no. You’re going to be teaching me so I should be paying,” Jungwoo reasons, pushing past Donghyuck’s hand to pay with his card. 

A small frown appears on Donghyuck’s face. “Fine,” he mutters with a shrug. 

Jungwoo pinches his cheek, pleased at the way Donghyuck cries out in protest. “Come on,” he says and they each reach for a bag of groceries. The sky begins to darken as they walk home hand in hand. 

By the time they arrive back at Jungwoo’s apartment, his stomach aches from laughing so hard at Donghyuck’s jokes. He holds both bags of groceries while Donghyuck fumbles with the apartment keys. As he beams at Donghyuck, Jungwoo notices that his cheeks hurt a little too. From smiling so much at the man he loves. 

They make the jello first. Donghyuck insists on eating the jello after dinner but it will take time for it to set in the fridge. So Jungwoo finds himself washing a punnet of blueberries in the sink as Donghyuck carefully opens a can of pineapples with the can opener. They couldn’t decide between grape or peach so they ended up buying both jello flavours. 

“Alright, let’s get started,” Donghyuck announces once the last container filled with jello mix is placed inside the fridge. 

They have to play a game of tetris with the items already inside the fridge to make space for the jello, but they manage to fit all the containers in eventually. The room smells like fruity goodness and Jungwoo can’t wait for the jello to set. 

Donghyuck is a great teacher and Jungwoo has known this for a while since it’s not the first time Donghyuck has set aside time to teach Jungwoo to do something. He’s great at teaching because he is patient and he explains everything in a clear, simple way. Not only that, he also answers all of Jungwoo’s questions. Sometimes Jungwoo feels that his questions are too silly to be asked, but Donghyuck reassures him and answers them seriously. 

Donghyuck usually demonstrates what he is doing to Jungwoo while talking him through the steps. Today, however, Donghyuck insists that he will sit back and watch from the side.

“I’ll give you all the instructions, don’t worry. I just think that it’ll be more helpful for you to cook it yourself, rather than watch me cook. More hands-on, you know? Hopefully the next time you cook, you will remember what you did today.” 

The smile on Donghyuck’s face puts Jungwoo at ease. It will be okay. Donghyuck will be here to make sure that Jungwoo doesn’t burn the spaghetti and they will both have edible food for dinner. 

Perching himself on a stool beside the kitchen counter, Donghyuck begins his cooking class. He asks Jungwoo to chop up the onions and mushrooms first. 

“It’s hard to multitask when you’re starting out,” Donghyuck explains, “you’re more likely to find yourself freaking out over what you’re cutting while trying to keep an eye on the stove.”

“Been there, done that,” Jungwoo groans loudly, thinking back to his experience with cutting the onion. He’s not too keen on doing that again. Maybe he can talk Donghyuck into cutting it for him. The bark of laughter that escapes Donghyuck makes Jungwoo feel a little more encouraged to cook again though. 

Much to his dismay, Donghyuck refuses to cut all of the onion for him, but he does offer to cut half of it—the half Jungwoo had abandoned earlier—as a demonstration. Jungwoo watches in amazement as Donghyuck chops the onion, running his knife through the onion swiftly and precisely. Compared to Donghyuck, Jungwoo is clumsy with the knife but with the handy tips that Donghyuck shares with him, he manages to cut his half of the onion without crying all over his chopping board. 

As Donghyuck walks him through the process of cooking spaghetti step by step, Jungwoo begins to reflect on the mistakes he made while cooking by himself. A lot of it seems like common sense, like how his spaghetti became stuck together because he didn’t add enough water to the pot and how adding the spaghetti into the water before it boils will affect the way it cooks. The more he thinks about it, the more foolish he feels for not knowing these things and for making the stupid mistakes he did.

Donghyuck pauses mid-sentence, somehow sensing Jungwoo’s inner turmoil. “Do you feel stupid for not knowing that?” He stops fiddling with the packet of spaghetti and Jungwoo’s ears burn under Donghyuck’s gaze.

As Jungwoo stares intently at his feet, he swipes the tip of his tongue over his front teeth, unsure of what to say in response to Donghyuck’s question. Barely holding himself together, he gives Donghyuck a slight nod.

“Well, I didn’t either until my grandma showed me,” Donghyuck explains gently. He reaches out a hand to tilt Jungwoo’s chin upwards. “So don’t feel dumb for not knowing. It’s okay to not know. No one ever knows, we all learn from scratch.” 

“But I’m such a bad cook,” Jungwoo says in a quiet voice, still not daring to look Donghyuck in the eyes.

“Hey, look at me,” Donghyuck says. Reluctantly, Jungwoo glances up. Their eyes meet and they remain still as they stare at each other for a few seconds. “I’ve had much more practice at cooking because my parents worked a lot and I needed to help out.” 

Jungwoo thinks of Donghyuck’s younger siblings and how Donghyuck had to take care of them when he was still living at home. It’s crazy how Jungwoo is two years older than Donghyuck, but Donghyuck is so much more mature than he is. 

These thoughts don’t stay around for long as Donghyuck continues, “Inexperience in something doesn’t necessarily mean you are bad at it. You will learn—like you are doing now—and you will get better. So don’t beat yourself up over every small mistake. You’re learning and it’s okay!” 

Donghyuck ends his pep talk in an excited tone of voice and Jungwoo feels his mood pick up a little. Maybe Donghyuck is right. Maybe he just needs to fail a few more times before he starts to see success in the kitchen. Overwhelmed by the urge to hold Donghyuck close, Jungwoo scoots closer and wraps his arms around him tightly. 

“And celebrate the small wins. Like that egg you made last Sunday. You didn’t burn that, did you?” Donghyuck asks cheerily. He loops one hand around Jungwoo’s waist and pats Jungwoo’s head with the other. 

“No,” Jungwoo replies, his voice muffled from the way he buries his face into Donghyuck’s neck. He loves the way Donghyuck cards his fingers through his hair, smoothing out the strands of hair sticking up at weird angles. 

“Alright chef.” Donghyuck shifts away from the hug to pat Jungwoo’s butt. “Your water is boiling so you should add your spaghetti.” 

At Donghyuck’s words, Jungwoo’s attention switches back to the stove and he belatedly notices that he had tuned out the sound of the water burbling in the pot. Jungwoo makes several mental notes when Donghyuck talks about how much spaghetti to cook for two people and how long he should leave it cooking for. 

Donghyuck makes cooking fun and Jungwoo admires how Donghyuck remains calm the whole time. It helps Jungwoo to calm his nerves, allowing him to redirect his thoughts from his past mistakes to the focus on the present. He catches himself enjoying the cooking process much more than he ever thought he would. 

Before Jungwoo knows it, both the spaghetti and the sauce are cooked and he is turning off the stove. He draws Donghyuck to his side as they admire the two plates of spaghetti sitting side by side. 

“You did it!” Donghyuck exclaims, his lips drawing back into a wide smile. He wraps his arms around Jungwoo’s waist and presses his head against his chest. “You did it all by yourself and I’m very proud of you.” 

“Thank you.” Jungwoo bends down to kiss the back of Donghyuck’s head. “Thank you for trusting me.” 

Donghyuck turns his head to look up at Jungwoo. “My pleasure,” he chirps. “Thank _you_ for cooking dinner for me.” He puckers his lips and Jungwoo pecks them without hesitation. 

As Jungwoo unwraps Donghyuck’s arms from around his waist, Donghyuck protests loudly about needing a proper kiss. Unable to decline Donghyuck’s request, Jungwoo cups his face and edges him backwards until Donghyuck’s back is pressed against the counter. Donghyuck kisses him back eagerly like he’s hungry for more. 

“Come on, let’s eat this before it gets cold,” Jungwoo says, pulling away after kissing for a while. 

They can make out like this for ages and usually Jungwoo lets it happen, but today, he wants Donghyuck to enjoy the food he cooked for him while it’s hot. At the promise of more kisses later, Donghyuck reluctantly steps away from the kitchen counter and follows Jungwoo to the small dining table. 

Jungwoo’s spaghetti is plain and simple but it tastes better because of the effort he has put into cooking it. He polishes off his plate of food quickly, then complains to Donghyuck about not making enough to have seconds.

“You can get back in the kitchen and cook more,” Donghyuck suggests smugly before shovelling another mouthful of spaghetti into his mouth. 

Jungwoo wrinkles his nose at this suggestion. “No thanks, I had fun cooking with you but that’s definitely enough cooking for the day.” 

Donghyuck helps him put away the dishes on the drying rack that had already dried while Jungwoo scrubs away at the pot and plates in the sink. It’s hard for Jungwoo to focus on the dishes in front of him when Donghyuck is flitting around the kitchen beside him, opening and shutting drawers and asking where the bowls are meant to go.

Before meeting Donghyuck, Jungwoo never knew that it was possible for one to fall in love with someone again and again. But Donghyuck has that effect on people and Jungwoo can’t help but watch Donghyuck over his shoulder, forgetting the running water in the sink as he stares endearingly at his boyfriend. He loves the way Donghyuck dances along to the upbeat song playing on Jungwoo’s phone. He loves the way Donghyuck hums cheerfully under his breath as he wipes down the stove. 

Turning back to the sink, Jungwoo quickly rinses off the last of the dishes. “Donghyuck?” Jungwoo calls out as he sets the clean plate down on the drying rack. 

His heart is so full of love for Donghyuck—one of these days he might just burst like a balloon. He’s never been more certain of anything. He loves Donghyuck so much and he wants to remind him.

“Yeah?” Donghyuck replies. The lights are reflected in his eyes, making them look like they are sparkling as Donghyuck turns to look at Jungwoo. 

“I love you,” Jungwoo says, feeling oddly breathless as the words leave his mouth. 

Donghyuck dances over to Jungwoo’s side. “I love you too,” he replies. He loops his arms around Jungwoo’s neck then leans in to kiss one corner of Jungwoo’s lips. “You have tomato sauce here.” 

“Do I?” Jungwoo blurts, reeling back to wipe at his mouth. 

“I’m just kidding,” Donghyuck admits with a grin, pulling Jungwoo back. He pecks the other side of Jungwoo’s lips. “The jelly hasn’t set yet, I just checked.”

“What should we do then?”

“Mmm,” Donghyuck hums thoughtfully, shifting to leave a peck on Jungwoo’s nose. “I think you know the answer to that.” 

They relocate to the sofa, where they spend the rest of their evening cuddling and sharing kisses until Jeno arrives home with a loud sigh of relief at the sight of his apartment, clean and not burnt down like he’d feared.

**Author's Note:**

> I had an interesting time researching and thinking of things that could go wrong while cooking spaghetti :’) Thank you for reading ♡♡ Please give hyuckwoo lots of love!!
> 
> Also huge thank you to [Sam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zero_miles) for proofreading this super last minute ♡ please check out her works!
> 
> [ ♡ Twitter](https://twitter.com/jaexings) / [♡ Curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/jaexings) / [♡ Other works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dohyucks)


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